On Wednesday, Panera Bread announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Au Bon Pain Holding Co. Inc.

With the deal, Panera will acquire more than 300 Au Bon Pain locations around the world. Au Bon Pain is a Boston-based chain that targets people on the go, with most restaurants located in hubs such as malls, hospitals, and transportation centers.

Both Panera and Au Bon Pain are known for its healthy food, made primarily to-go.
Panera

The two brands have strikingly similar menus, selling sandwiches, salads, soups, and coffee with an emphasis on nutrition that many fast-food competitors do not have. However, Au Bon Pain has locations in areas where Panera is working to expand.

"This acquisition offers the strategic opportunity for us to grow in several new real estate channels, including hospitals, universities, transportation centers and urban locations, among others," Panera's founder and longtime CEO, Ron Shaich, said in a statement.

Shaich told Business Insider it is "too early" to say how the acquisition will impact Au Bon Pain locations. So, it is unclear if the brands will remain completely separate or if Au Bon Pain locations will adopt aspects of Panera's brand — or even be completely revamped as Panera locations.

The Au Bon Pain transaction is expected to close during the fourth quarter. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The two brands have a long history. Panera has its roots in Au Bon Pain, Inc. — a bakery-café created in the '80s when Shaich combined his cookie shop with the small bakery chain Au Bon Pain. In 1999, the company formerly known as Au Bon Pain, Inc. sold all of its Au Bon Pain units and renamed itself Panera LLC.

"With the acquisition we are announcing today, we are bringing Au Bon Pain and Panera together again," Shaich said.